Let’s rewind to 1996: I was starting college, and Sublime was gaining popularity. That year, they headlined the inaugural SnoCore tour and put the finishing touches on their self-titled third record.
But two months before Sublime was released, singer Bradley Nowell died tragically. The record would go on to spawn several mega-hit songs. Tracks like “What I Got” and “Santeria” defined a generation. Bradley’s son Jakob Nowell wasn’t even a year old when his father passed away at age 28.
Fast forward 30 years, and Sublime is about to drop their first LP of original material since that fateful release. After Bradley’s passing, the remaining band members, Bud Gaugh and Eric Wilson, formed the Long Beach Dub All-Stars. That group, which featured other Sublime contributors, survived only five years.
A collaboration between Gaugh, Wilson, and Rome Ramirez dubbed Sublime With Rome formed in 2009. Gaugh left shortly after in 2011, and the group was more of a Sublime tribute, but with newly co-written material. They played through several iterations before disbanding officially in 2024.
Turning the Pages Forward and Back Again
The same year Sublime With Rome ended, Jakob joined Gaugh and Wilson to play a benefit show, which led to several festival performances. They released the single “Feel Like That” with Stick Figure in 2024, and Sublime was the special guest for night two of Stick Figure at Red Rocks. After a single sold-out evening headlining there in 2025, Sublime is playing two shows at Red Rocks in 2026. They recently announced that they’ll also be playing Fiddler’s Green with 311 and Slightly Stoopid (dubbed Summer Greens) this year. They’ll also be at the Ford Amphitheater in Colorado Springs.
While Sublime With Rome was nearing its end, Jakob had been following his dad’s footsteps, playing guitar and singing. He’d formed his own band, Jakob’s Castle, which was gaining popularity. He still tours with the band, and I caught them in November of 2025 at the Black Sheep. Despite playing the show seated as he recovered from leg surgery, it was a high-energy affair. They rocked a version of the single “Ensenada” that he released with Sublime in 2025.
Sublime Return: Until The Sun Explodes
The upcoming Sublime album is scheduled for release on June 12th, just a couple of weeks before Jakob’s 31st birthday. Titled Until The Sun Explodes, the album was highlighted by Jakob in a touching recent post. He described the record as “an epilogue, and ‘Until the Sun Explodes‘ the single is the epilogue to the epilogue. It is a tribute to the expansive works of Sublime…”
As a super-fan of the self-titled album, bet I’ll be singing it word for word when Sublime plays it in its entirety on night one of their Red Rocks dates. I’m digging the new song, and can’t wait to hear the rest of the new album! Hopefully, we’ll get a few tastes in April as they host a two-night 420 on the Rocks (albeit a few days early) on the 17th and 18th.
If you didn’t get tickets to those shows or are hoping to hear more new songs, the additional shows take place a couple of months later. They’ll play the newer Ford Amphitheater on Thursday, August 6th. It’s the closest they’ll play to me, so I’m hoping to catch that show too!
The star-studded Fiddler’s throwdown happens on Friday, August 7th. You’ve got several chances to see the newly reborn Sublime while they’re (back) on top of the world. Who knows when that sun is gonna go boom, so why wait — catch ’em now!
